National News

Veteran Ignored for 8 Years in Psych Facility

(NEWSER) – The VA's Office of the Medical Inspector routinely dismisses the agency's deficiencies as harmless to patients' health—even though that is patently and obviously untrue, according to a new report from the Office of Special Counsel that turned up a host of disturbing new allegations against the VA. According to the report, there are more than 50 pending whistleblower cases from Veterans Affairs employees, representing more than "more than a quarter of all matters referred by OSC for investigation government-wide," the report says, according to CNN. Specific allegations in the new report include::

One patient spent more than eight years in a Brockton, MA, psychiatric facility before he even received a comprehensive evaluation or any medication assessments. Another veteran, admitted to the facility in 2005, didn't have a single note on his chart until seven years later. The OMI viewed these as "harmless errors."

The medical center in Jackson, MS, was found to have committed a host of infractions, including unlawfully prescribing narcotics, using unsterile medical equipment, and scheduling appointments in "ghost clinics" that had no actual providers, resulting in veterans not receiving treatment. The VA has refused to acknowledge that these things affected veterans' health or safety